On this eve
by Julie London
Summary: What happened in Voldemort's inner circle on the night James and Lily died? See how Barty Crouch Jr. found out about his Master's death and his initial reaction.*Written for The First War Competition*


**A/N:**Written for the "**The First War Competition**", created by **lella7** on the **HPFC forums**. The rules were to choose a character and write about its role on the First War. Mine was Barty Crouch Jr! Hope you all enjoy.

**Summary**: What happened in Voldemort's inner circle on the night James and Lily died? See how Barty Crouch Jr. found out about his Master's death and his initial reaction.

**Disclaimer**: HP and all of its characters belong to JK Rowling.

Thank you for reading!

~ Julie

* * *

On this eve

When I was a kid, my father never allowed me to go out trick-or-treating. He used to say that the son of the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement should not be seen begging for sweets. He said I could have all the sweets I wanted and, indeed, I could. But it was not as fun to ask our house-elf Winky to give them to me, as it was to go out with my little neighbours in what – we thought – was a great adventure. So, I simply ate my chocolate frogs alone and saw through the window how my neighbours ran up and down the streets knocking on doors. I hated Halloween – bad memories, I assume.

I was not allowed to play Quidditch either, because my mother used to say that it was dangerous and I would break all my bones. I was allowed to watch it, though. Since my father was a high ministry official, he would always get me the best seats for any match, anywhere in the world. However, I was not allowed to bring any friends, because it was not appropriate for Heads of Department to use their power for personal benefit. So eventually, I stopped attending, because I got bored of assisting with Winky or – worse – my mother.

Yes, being me was no fun back then. But that changed, of course, when He came. He taught me the truth about power, muggles and wizards. He showed me that we – purebloods – had the right to own the world because we were unique, better and greater than any other human being or creature. He didn't accept any wizard by his side, only the elite, the best of the best – and I was amongst them. I was a devoted follower and I had proved it, several times. As a reward, I was allowed to carry his Mark, so he could call me everytime he needed me; of course, as a gesture of gratitude, I never failed to respond – and today was no exception.

I felt the Mark burn this evening, a few hours ago, and immediately Apparated to the Lestranges' mansion, where I was greeted by a few people of our lot – the only ones important enough to have the Mark. Bellatrix and Rodolphus, of course, Rabastan, Theodore, Irma, Lucius and Dora were waiting for me.

"Crouch! There you are!" were Bellatrix's welcoming words.

"You know the Lord only comes when the group is complete, what took you so long?" complained Irma afterwards.

To my surprise, she was pregnant – which was the reason why I had been oddly remembering my oh-so-joyful childhood a while ago. Well, that and the fact that Severus was still missing; so the Lord wouldn't appear anytime soon.

I was bored and didn't feel like recalling my early years anymore, so I just looked around the room. We usually gathered in the sitting room, but on this opportunity we were all standing in the entrance hall. Opposed to the front door, a long and white marble staircase was found, elegantly decorated with a blood-red carpet. For the first time in my countless visits to the mansion, I noticed that each one of the barrels was circled by a marble snake; their heads met at the edge of the bottom step and their tongues mingled in a very disturbing way.

"It was about time!" Bellatrix's irritated voice startled me. Snape had finally arrived. He didn't even bother to reply and simply nodded, acknowledging our presence.

"Cut it off, Bellatrix," I replied amused. "We are all here now, alright?"

Suddenly, the lights softened and a cold, unexpected breeze shut the windows' curtains.

"Certainly, Bellatrix," said the Dark Lord from the top of the marble staircase. "Why make such a fuss over something so insignificant as time?"

"My Lord," she bowed and we all followed.

"I have summoned you this evening because you are, without a doubt, the most loyal followers I have," he said as he slithered down the stairs.

"We are delighted to serve you, my Lord," said Rodolphus.

"I know," replied the Lord, clearly pleased. "And today you shall be rewarded even more than what you already have been."

At this statement we looked up at him, because now we knew that this was no ordinary meeting.

"This evening is special for us," he continued. "Today, it is the day on which we will change History – forever."

He paused and none of us dared to speak; but his words were indeed penetrating our skulls. Was it really the day? That day we had been waiting for so long…

"At last," he went on, "we shall officially take over the Ministry and…well, the world."

I saw Bellatrix succumb and kneel in front of the Dark Lord, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes – always such a doormat. In fact, that's what we used to call her behind her back. Bellatrix _Doormat_ Lestrange. Severus came up with the nickname a long time ago and it was now of common use amongst the crowd.

"Dear Bellatrix, yes, the day has finally come. So that is why I need you, my selected forces, to be prepared.

"On this eve, I shall finally put an end to that boring matter that has been delaying me for months; I must say that Wormtail, against all odds, played his part extremely well. So you all ought to be ready…Bellatrix and Rodolphus, I expect you to wait for me here. We shall meet in a few hours and go straight to the Daily Prophet to deliver the news. Whereas you – Rabastan and Theodore – should immediately stand guard in the Ministry, so we can take over quickly. I would really hate to postpone that issue even more. Now, my dear Dora and Irma, you two shall watch over St. Mungo's; and Lucius and Severus, owl Albus and the Board about the upcoming changes in Hogwarts. As for you, Barty," and he looked at me, "feel free to go home and have a long conversation with your father; inform him that his office belongs to you, now."

No further explanation was needed and the Dark Lord disappeared. He didn't say _where_ he was going, but we knew exactly _what_ he would do. Wormtail had succeeded and gave him the location of the Potters, so he would finally kill the boy.

"What are you waiting for?" cried Bellatrix. "Move!"

"You go to the Board. I will owl Dumbledore," said Severus to Lucius before Apparating.

"Rabastan! Theodore!" yelled Bellatrix in ecstasy, "hurry up!"

The two men and then Irma and Dora were out of sight in less than a second; but of course, I didn't follow the _Doormat_'s orders, so I took my time before Apparating to my beloved father's house. Oh, I really looked forward to give him the good news.

I appeared outside my parents' house and bumped into two kids disguised as werewolves. Apparently, they had been knocking on the door and screaming for sweets, but the house was empty. This was odd, especially on Halloween's Eve; my mother loved the festivity and to help the trick-or-treating kids – funny, huh?

The kids ran away to their houses and I broke into mine. I stepped into the sitting room and scanned the place. It hadn't changed since my departure; it was not even decorated for the occasion. Although, I did notice that my pictures were missing – courtesy of my father, I imagine. I looked through the nearest window hoping to find any sign of our victory, but the streets were deserted and the sky, dark but unmarked. Hours went by and this scenario didn't change, so I started to get impatient. Why was this taking so long? What could have possibly–?

An unbearable pain put an end to my thoughts. The Mark burnt in my arm like never before. The pain slowly spread from my left forearm through my entire body and, suddenly, I lost balance and fell to the floor. The room around me spun frantically and all I could do was simply lie there, aching from head to toe. My head pounded and my heart beat fast; then my stomach twisted and I instinctively hugged my knees, hoping it would help to calm the suffering.

I don't know for how long I lay on the floor; probably a few seconds, or minutes, but the excruciating pain was enough for a lifetime. Slowly, the pain vanished and I came back to my senses. My left arm was still sore; so I pulled my sleeve up to check the spot and almost collapsed again, horrified by the view. The Mark was throbbing rapidly up and down; it was beating so fast that for a second I thought my skin would explode – and it did. Thick drops of blood emanated from the Mark and I could see my flesh, thumping. But then, the pulsing became weaker until, finally, the Mark went still and its colour faded.

It was a sign, not the one I was expecting, but a sign nonetheless and I understood it immediately.

I Disapparated right away to the only place on which I could find answers – the Lestranges'. The first person I saw when I appeared in the mansion was Bellatrix, screaming and crying on the floor. Rodolphus ran to me, grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me violently.

"Did you feel it?" he asked bewildered.

I didn't reply, but simply stared into space. Was He really gone?

Suddenly, Bellatrix stood up, with the maddest expression on her teary face.

"No, no, no" she muttered through gritted teeth. "We have to find our Lord! This is not over yet!"

"Rodolphus!" said Rabastan as he kicked open the front door and walked into the room. "What happened? What is this?" he was showing the discoloured and scarred Mark to his brother.

"I think–" Rodolphus gulped and whispered, "I think the Lord's gone."

Bellatrix ran desperately towards her brother-in-law and grabbed the front of his robes.

"We have to do something, Rabastan!" she pleaded. "The Lord! They must have captured him! Let's go after Dumbledore, to Hog–"

"No," said Rabastan firmly. "The Longbottoms. I know where they are."

From that point onwards, the rest of the night became a blur. We Apparated to the Ministry, because Rabastan knew that the Longbottoms were guarding the building. Those two put up a fight, but we outnumbered them and, eventually, they crumbled. I could hear Bellatrix's manic laugh, Rodolphus's vicious insults and Rabastan's abusive spells. But they were distant, as if the events around me weren't real. My eyes fixed wickedly on the two bodies – oh, how they bled, broke and screamed. I rejoiced at their pained faces, at how they begged for mercy. I wanted them to feel what I had felt mere minutes ago.

I remember flashes of lights, left and right, until the Longbottoms stopped fighting, until they simply floated in midair, with their blank eyes and their heads twitching. I smiled at the sight of two of _their_ lot being worse than dead – that's what they deserved. The Lord would be so proud of me.

And then Bellatrix's laugh turned into a yell, Rodolphus's insults and Rabastan's spells ceased. I could hear other unfamiliar voices now, but I didn't stop to look around. I was not able to control my wicked needs, so I just kept staring and firing spells at the abused bodies of the Longbottoms. At some point, I recognized a voice – my father's voice – and realized that we were busted, surrounded by Aurors. I understood then – accepted - that the Mark on my arm was nothing but a mere scar. I looked up and met my father's eyes. I smiled defiantly.

The game was over, for now.


End file.
